hospital tour...

on thursday afternoon we took the kids to cmc for a sibling tour! i have posted pictures and details on our other blog. the tour has made us all excited for the arrival of baby jaelyn!

8 weeks to go...

this past weekend we worked in the girls' room. a few braxton hicks contractions threw jamil and i into panic mode as we realized baby jaelyn will be here soon. so after a long sunday for my hubby, he put up the crib and some shelves. he is so great!!! so the girls' room is coming along. i promise i will post some pics when the room is complete.

sometimes i wonder if i will make it another eight weeks. i feel like there is absolutely no room left for her. i can tell she is running out of room because she is moving like she is crowded. it gets rather uncomfortable. i have been having trouble breathing and have had a little more heartburn - all due to the overcrowding!

i have been a little more grumpy and emotional again. but other than that and being uncomfortable most of the day and getting tired easily everything is going great with baby jaelyn this week.

9 weeks to go...

today i had an appointment with my midwife. everything is looking good with baby and me! she was head down - and i am praying she stays that way! although she is small enough to flip again - which if she does it is fine with me as long as she remembers to flip back before she is too big!!! her heartrate was good in the high 150s and i am measuring right at 31 weeks. not much more to report! i praise God for a happy and healthy baby girl!!!!

i have been pretty exhausted in the afternoons and evenings. and there are times that i am so uncomfortable i could scream. sometimes i wonder if i can make it 9 more weeks. it is so hard to do anything that requires bending over. and when you are a mom of three other kids -- bending over is kind of a requirement! i am getting pretty clutsy and seem to drop everything. and when i do, i get frustrated because it has to be picked up. if one of the kids are around they are quick to help!!!

last week, i was so excited to buy a few things for the baby!! i got them all off of craig's list. i scored big time!!! i got over $800 worth of gear for just over $200. i got a peg perego stroller, a joovy stroller, a colgate crib mattress and a baby bjorn!! i did sooo much research on which products i wanted to purchase for jaelyn and it was so fun to find them on craig's list. i

hadn't planned on buying a new baby bjorn b/c i have one, but it is an older model (8 years old) and the one i got was a lot newer with different side clips that seem so much easier than the old snaps. when i was at the ladie's house getting the crib mattress she had the baby bjorn and threw it in for a steal!!! i used the baby bjorn a lot with my other three kids. i would also like to try using a sling with jaelyn. i didn't have one with jesiah - i contemplated it but never got one. now they are so popular and everyone loves them. so, i will probably use both - atleast until i prefer one over another!!!

this weekend, we plan to work around the house and get some of the projects cleared off my nesting instinct list!!!

10 weeks to go...

yesterday, marked 30 weeks of my pregnancy. i can not believe i have been pregnant for 30 weeks. i am 3/4 of the way there. and i know these last 10 weeks are going to go so quickly. and if she decides to be an early bird like her big brother, i have 8 weeks to go.

i have been busy getting ready for her arrival. but i have so much more to do, it is pretty overwhelming. i have a list of must dos before baby comes which includes: finishing the girls' room (putting the crib up, creating a changing station, decorating, etc), cleaning out the garage (so we can put a deep freezer in there), making and freezing meals in the deep freezer, cleaning out the kitchen cabinets and cleaning out our bedroom closet. i really can not afford to add anything else to that list - but probably will. and those are just the big projects i need to do, i have lots of little ones too. i have been busy researching and picking out the baby gear that we need. and also been finding creative ways to maximize space in our house that is busting at the seams!!

what is hard for me is the limited energy that i have. i wake up early, a little tired but once i get going i have a lot of energy. but after lunch around 1 or 2:00 i start to get sooooo exhausted. i have totally run out of steam. even if i don't do much in the morning, i am still tired. i usually make myself sit down and a lot of times i do take a nap. i try to do this before we have to pick up the big kids at school. and then i will get a spurt of energy in the late afternoon - which will carry me through our nightly routine and bedtime. once we get the kids in bed around 7:30, i am exhausted. so my evenings are usually spent resting and going to bed fairly early.

i am carrying jaelyn pretty high and i get uncomfortable very easy. i carried jordyn this way too. the boys i carried low. both ways have their pros and cons. it is hard to sit for too long when you carry high because my upper rib cage starts to hurt. it is hard to lay down and sleeping is broken by waking up to "go potty"

jamil and i have been talking about what she is going to look like in comparison to our other three babies. when i start thinking about her actually being here, i get so excited. and then when i realize that i will probably never be pregnant again, i want to keep her in my belly for a longer time. and i want to cherish every second of being pregnant. i get sad thinking that this is my last pregnancy. overall, i really love to be pregnant. this has probably been my hardest pregnancy - but i still enjoy it. i look forward to her birth day! i really love the excitement around bringing a new life into the world. i love my hospital stays! it is like a vacation for me.

so at ten weeks i have lots of thoughts and emotions stirring around. but i am so thankful to be pregnant and have a new baby in about 10 weeks!

29 weeks...

yesterday, i had an appointment with my midwife for a regular check up and weigh in! everything is looking great with me and with baby! i am measuring right at 29 weeks. the weigh in was not fun - and i could barely look at the final digits. but then i remembered i had an afternoon appointment and we had just come from eating a big mexican lunch - so i am taking a pound and a half off of that weight total.

baby jaelyn was really happy - her heart rate reflected that. i guess the coke and mexican food i just consumed was a good thing for her!! she is very active these days, kicking and squirming! it is hard to believe in just a little over 10 weeks we will be holding her!!!